What is the best antifreeze to choose for your car

The best coolant in 2022

The best coolant, or should I say “low freezing coolant” is the one recommended for your car by the manufacturer. If not, here are our top coolant recommendations for 2022

To find out which coolant is factory recommended for your car, just open the manual and read the recommendations, usually located in the last pages of the manual. The best coolant (coolant) for your vehicle will be the one that best meets the requirements (manufacturer’s tolerances) in the manual. If you don’t have one, search engines on the internet will help. Also you can find a lot of information on specialized forums.

Rating of Top 7 according to KP

– It is necessary to take the choice of antifreeze seriously, as the coolant affects the engine operation. That is why automakers indicate in the service books, that it is prohibited to fill in cooling system with any fluids, except the ones recommended by the automaker. For instance, Hyundai uses only A-110 – phosphate lobrid coolant, and for Kia – lobrid coolant of Hyundai MS 591-08 specification”, says Maxim Ryazanov, Technical Director of Fresh Auto.

In case of refilling the coolant it is worth using the same brand as the one already filled up in the engine. The average price for 4-5 liters – from 400 rubles to 3 thousand.

1. Castrol Radicool SF

The antifreeze concentrate is of a carboxylate type. It is based on mono-ethylene glycol, and there are no amines, nitrites, phosphates and silicates in the additives.

The fluid is designed for a long replacement interval – up to five years. It meets the G12 standard for carboxylate antifreeze. The antifreeze has excellent protective, cooling, cleaning and lubricating properties. It has a high degree of protection against formation of harmful deposits, foaming, corrosion, and the damaging effects of cavitation.

Radicool SF/Kastrol G12 is compatible with all kinds of engines made of aluminum, cast iron, copper and their combinations. Perfectly preserves any polymeric, rubber and plastic hoses, sealing elements and details.

Compatible with gasoline and diesel engines of cars, trucks and buses. Its versatility makes it economical for car fleets.

Radicool SF / Castrol G12 is recommended (OEM) for primary and subsequent filling: Doytz, Ford, MAN, Mercedes, Volkswagen.

Specification (manufacturers’ approvals):

• ASTM D3306(I), ASTM D4985;
• BS6580:2010;
• JIS K2234;
• MAN 324 Typ SNF;
• VW TL-774F;
• FORD WSS-M97B44-D;
• MB-Approval 325.3;
• General Motors GM 6277M;
• Cummins IS series and N14 engines;
• Komatsu;
• Renault Type D;
• Jaguar CMR 8229;
• MTU MTL 5048 Series 2000C&I.

The color of the concentrate is red. It must be diluted with pure distilled water before use. It is not recommended to mix this antifreeze with products of other manufacturers. But it can be mixed with analogs within one brand.

Pros and cons

2. Liqui-Moly Kuhlerfrostschutz KFS 2001 Plus G12

Antifreeze based on ethylene glycol and additives based on organic carboxylic acids, corresponding to class G12. Excellent protection against freezing, overheating and oxidation. Replacement interval is from five years.

Before filling the cooling system, the manufacturer recommends flushing it with Kuhler-Reiniger cleaner.

But if it is not available, it is possible to use normal distilled water.

It is recommended to change this type of antifreeze every 5 years unless the manufacturer specifies otherwise. The pouring temperature when the concentrate is mixed with water in the following proportions:

1:0.6 at -50 °C 1:1 at -40 °C1:1.5 at -27 °C1:2 at -20 °C

This antifreeze may be mixed with comparable products marked G12 (usually coloured red) and also with antifreeze marked G11 (containing silicates and approved to VW TL 774-C, usually coloured blue or green). You can buy this concentrate in the Liqui Moly online store.

It is used in 1 or 5 liter cans.

Pros and cons

A quality brand, own online store, a wide range of mixing options (a large list of tolerances).

3. MOTUL INUGEL OPTIMAL ULTRA

The antifreeze concentrate is of a carboxylate type. It is based on mono-ethylene glycol, and there are no amines, nitrites, phosphates and silicates in the additives.

The fluid is designed for a long replacement interval – up to five years. It meets the G12 standard for carboxylate antifreeze. The antifreeze has excellent protective, cooling, cleaning and lubricating properties. It has a high degree of protection against formation of harmful deposits, foaming, corrosion, and the damaging effects of cavitation.

Radicool SF/Kastrol G12 is compatible with all kinds of engines made of aluminum, cast iron, copper and their combinations. Perfectly preserves any polymeric, rubber and plastic hoses, sealing elements and details.

Compatible with gasoline and diesel engines of cars, trucks and buses. Its versatility makes it economical for car fleets.

Radicool SF /Kastrol G12 is recommended for use (OEM) for the primary and subsequent filling: “Deutz”, “Ford”, “MAN”, “Mercedes”, “Volkswagen”.

The color of the concentrate is red. Before use it must be diluted with pure distilled water. It is not recommended to mix this antifreeze with products of other manufacturers. But it is permissible to mix it with analogues within one brand.

Specification (manufacturers’ approvals):

• ASTM D3306(I), ASTM D4985;
• BS6580:2010;
• JIS K2234;
• MAN 324 Typ SNF;
• VW TL-774F;
• FORD WSS-M97B44-D;
• MB-Approval 325.3;
• General Motors GM 6277M;
• Cummins IS series and N14 engines;
• Komatsu;
• Renault Type D;
• Jaguar CMR 8229;
• MTU MTL 5048 Series 2000C&I.

The color of the concentrate is red. It must be diluted with pure distilled water before use. It is not recommended to mix this antifreeze with products of other manufacturers. But it can be mixed with analogs within one brand.

Pros and cons

4. COOLSTREAM .

Produced by “TECHNOFORM” company on the basis of Arteco bags. At retail it is represented by a line of Coolstream antifreezes, which have a lot of official approvals (as a rebrand of original antifreezes).

On the official website of the company you can choose the necessary antifreeze according to your car specifications. As an example of the recommendation: COOLSTREAM Premium – flagship carboxylate antifreeze (Super-OAT).

Under different names it is used for filling in new cars at Ford, Opel, Volvo and other plants.

Pros and cons

5. LUKOIL ANTIFREEZE G12 RED

A modern low freezing coolant developed using carboxylate technology. It is used in closed-circuit cooling circuits of internal combustion engines of passenger cars and trucks, operating at ambient temperatures down to -40 °С.

Provides protection against freezing, corrosion, scaling and overheating of all modern engines exposed to high loads. The use of carboxylate technology provides reliable engine cooling and reduces the impact of hydrodynamic cavitation. A thin protective layer is created exactly where corrosion occurs, providing a more efficient heat transfer and reduced additive consumption, which increases the life of the coolant.

Pros and cons

Excellent price/quality ratio, both concentrates and ready-to-use mixtures are available, a complete line of products the customer needs.

6. 6. Gazpromneft Antifreeze SF 12+

Has the official admission MAN 324 Typ SNFGazpromneft Antifreeze SF 12+ – concentrate coolant based on ethylene glycol for use in internal combustion engines, including automobile and stationary engines.

7. SINTEC PREMIUM G12+

“ObninskOrgsintez is the merited leader on the Russian antifreeze market and one of the largest producers of cooling liquids. It is represented by a line of antifreezes SINTEC.

Thanks to its own research and testing department the constant introduction of advanced technologies and the latest developments is provided.

ObninskOrgsintez produces all types of coolants:

• traditional (mineral with silicates);
• Hybrid (with inorganic and organic additives);
• Produced by OAT (Organic Acid Technology) – organic acid technology (so called “carboxylate”);
• The newest lobrid antifreeze (bipolar production technology – OAT with addition of silicates).

Antifreeze “PREMIUM” G12+ is modernized carboxylate antifreeze with increased durability, manufactured by Organic Acid Technology (OAT). It is made with application of synergetic composition of carboxylic acids salts with additional corrosion inhibitors of copper.

It has a high heat transfer coefficient, because it does not cover the entire surface with a protective layer, but forms a thin protective film only at the beginning of corrosion. Protects cooling systems under extreme temperature conditions. Safe for all types of internal combustion engines of automobiles, as it does not contain nitrites, amines, phosphates, borates and silicates. It does not contain additives that deposit on the walls of the cooling system, providing and maintaining the necessary heat dissipation. This coolant uses virtually indestructible organic corrosion inhibitors.

It is approved by Volkswagen, MAN, AvtoVAZ and other automakers. “PREMIUM is recommended for all kinds of cast-iron and aluminum engines and is designed for 250,000 km of mileage. “PREMIUM” G12+ meets VW TL 774-D/F Type G12+ classification.

By its performance properties the antifreeze is significantly superior to conventional and similar coolants. Color of fluid is crimson.

Pros and cons

How to choose coolant for your car

In Russia the only document regulating the requirements to the “low freezing coolant” (aka coolant fluid) is GOST 28084-89. It serves as the basis for the development of normative documentation for all coolants on the territory of the Russian Federation. But despite all the pros and cons it has the usual “bottleneck”. If the producer produces the coolant not on the ethylene glycol basis he has the right to follow not the GOST standards, but his own specifications. That is why the “antifreezes” are made with real freezing temperature about “minus” 20 centigrade, and boiling – a bit over 60, because they (I notice, quite legally) use cheaper glycerin and methanol instead of ethylene glycol. Moreover, the first of these components costs practically nothing, and the second compensates for the disadvantages of using cheap raw materials.

The risk to run into quite legal, but not corresponding to real requirements coolant is great. What to do? Check the purchased coolant for flammability. Yes, you read it correctly: the coolant on the base of glycerin-methanol is burning easily. Therefore, it is extremely dangerous to use it. In fact, such coolant can get on the heated parts of the car exhaust system!

Selection Criteria

In the professional world the term for coolant is used – antifreeze. It is a liquid consisting of water, ethylene glycol, dye and a package of additives. It is the last and not the color that defines the difference between coolants and their characteristics.

Antifreezes are divided into:

• Traditional – antifreezes based on inorganic additive packages, which consist of mineral salts (in the USSR it was the brand TOSOL). This is an outdated technology, which is not currently used by automakers for modern engines. But suitable only for cooling systems of cars from the era of, let’s say, “Zhiguli” (1960-80 years).
• Carboxylate – on the basis of organic additive packages from a set of carboxylic acids and their salts. Such compositions can contain up to several dozens of components, performing their role.
• Hybrid – is a mixture of the two technologies described above, approximately in equal proportions. In such mixtures, a significant proportion of salts such as silicates are introduced into the organic package, resulting in a hybrid package.
• Lobrid is a type of hybrid antifreeze in which the share of mineral salts in the additive package is limited to about 9%. The remaining 91% is an organic package. Along with carboxylate antifreezes, lobride antifreezes are considered the most technologically advanced today.

Each of the four types listed has antifreeze that has approvals from several automakers at once. For example, approvals from Volkswagen AG – G11, G12 or G12+, from Ford, GM, Land Rover and many others. But that doesn’t mean that the antifreezes of one class are the same and are suitable for all cars using that class of coolant. For example, BMW lobrid antifreeze with GS 94000 approval cannot be used in Kia cars (which use, for example, lobrid with MS 591 approval) – BMW uses silicates and prohibits phosphates, and Kia/Hyundai, on the contrary, uses phosphates and does not allow silicates in the antifreeze.

Once again I would like to stress your attention: the choice of antifreeze must be made strictly according to the manufacturer’s specifications, according to its tolerance. So before buying the best coolant for your car, arm yourself with the knowledge from our article, manual and/or Internet – check it in several sources. And also carefully read the information on the label of the coolant container.

Now for the producers. It’s both easier and more complicated at the same time. You should choose the best coolant from a number of well-known manufacturers. But such liquids are counterfeited more often. That is why you should buy coolant only in checked out places: in large auto parts trade centers, specialized stores or authorized dealers. Be especially attentive while purchasing coolant (and spare parts) in small regional cities, district centers and “near roads”. Other counterfeit in appearance is practically indistinguishable from the original. So advanced are the technologies now.

Choosing antifreeze for your car

Many car owners treat the right choice of the antifreeze for their car carelessly, and in vain, in fact the task of every motorist, who values his car is to follow its technical condition, timely change change of consumables and do repairs.

Thus it is necessary to pay special attention to the engine, as the basic knot of the car.

Timely change of oil, the use of high-quality gasoline – all this is clear.

We must not forget about such an important nuance, such as quality engine cooling. And here the main load takes the coolant – antifreeze.

We know that the first engines appeared more than two hundred years ago, and in those days there was no antifreeze. The coolant was simply air.

But already in 1900, the first motor with a more efficient – water cooling. Another thirty years later, thermostats and pumps began to be actively introduced, which made it possible to get a lot better speed indicators from the engine and increase its resource.

As for the first antifreezes, they were simple and performed in three different compositions:

1.In the form of calcium salts and sodium chlorides; 2.Alcohol (ethyl or methyl); 3.And also in the form of glycerin mixed with honey and sugar.

As for the ethylene glycol better known to us, such products did not appear until 1930. Nine years later, effective anti-corrosion compounds came on the market.

Today we can distinguish several basic types of antifreeze.

G11 / CODEG11 is one of the most common classes of antifreeze in Russia. Its basis is ethylene glycol.

The main advantage is the ease of production and, accordingly, affordable price. The cost of antifreeze may differ depending on its capacity, composition, quality additives and so on.

This type of antifreeze has no amines, borates and phosphates.

As for the color, G11 / CODEG11 can have yellow, green and blue (most often) shades. Suitable for vehicles up to 1996.

G12 / CODEG12 is the second most popular antifreeze. Its basis is propylene glycol. The price of such coolant is higher due to the higher cost of raw materials. And the quality of such antifreezes is higher.

The effectiveness of anti-corrosion additives is worth special mentioning. It is believed that this type of fluid is optimal for 1996-2001 cars.

The main color is red, but there are variants with different shades – carrot, purple and others.

This coolant “lives” longer – up to five years.

IMPORTANT: If you mix the first and the second type, it can lead to the formation of flakes.

G12 Plus / G12+ – antifreezes for cars from 2001 and higher. Their distinctive feature is absence of various harmful elements – amines, borates, nitriles and others.

Consequently, G12 Plus can be mixed with other types of coolant. The color can be any color, but most often purple, violet and lilac.

G13 is similar to G12 Plus, but more modern technology was used during its production.

In Russia, such antifreezes are not produced for this reason.

This antifreeze is mainly designed for sports cars and motorcycles. Its distinctive feature is the heat capacity and thermal conductivity.

What are the differences from the tosol

For many car enthusiasts, the choice of antifreeze is a whole problem. A variety of colors and kinds of antifreeze makes it hard to choose.

But the main difficulty is lack of understanding the basic difference between the coolant we are considering and the usual toluene.

Many motorists have a certain stereotype that tosol is suitable for old cars, and antifreeze for new ones. Not at all.

These two coolants are one and the same. It’s just that ash is the antifreeze of the old type (classic type). Because of far from the best qualities, aggressiveness to metals, it is used less and less often, but some motorists still continue to buy antifreeze for one simple reason – it has an affordable price.

Advantages and disadvantages

If you compare the antifreeze with tonol or water, it has many advantages:

provides better engine cooling; effectively performs its tasks even at low temperatures; protects aluminum even at high overheating; prolongs the “life” of the water pump, protects the engine cylinder liners from cavitation; has excellent compatibility with plastics and elastomers; does not allow the formation of various clogs in the radiator and so on. But there are some disadvantages:

there are more and more fakes, so the choice of antifreeze must be made wisely (not only by color or name); mixing of different types of antifreezes can lead to the appearance of flakes and other unnecessary impurities; in the process of operation of low-quality antifreeze can change its color, there is a possibility of appearance of sediment and deterioration of characteristics.

I’d like to note right away that it is a stupid idea to buy antifreeze, relying only on color.

The only thing you may learn for yourself is the color dependence of certain products on the freezing temperature.

For example, in Russia there are two types of dry mixer produced – of blue color (up to -40 degrees Celsius) and red color (down to -65 degrees Celsius).

There is no other kind of antifreeze.

As for the European antifreezes (we looked at them in the classification), they have the same freezing point – down to -40 degrees Celsius.

But the antifreezes from South Korea and Japan have their own colors: yellow (down to -200C), green (down to -250C) and red (down to -300C).

It is necessary to remember that coolant dyes may partially change color when interacting with other constituents.

If antifreeze discolored during operation it means complete loss of its properties.

Choice by brand

If you do not know how to choose antifreeze, it is better to do it by brand or manufacturer (we will talk about this below).

I would like to note right away that there is no special classification by brand.

Each manufacturer produces coolant under its letter designation.

The most popular standards today:

in the USA – S A E, ASTM; in Japan – JIS; in England – BS; in Germany -VW; in France – AFNOR; in Italy – CUNA.

In addition, all types of antifreeze have their own classification: hybrid (G11), carboxylate (G12 and G12+), and lobrid (G12++ and G13). We have already briefly talked about them today.

Choice by Manufacturer

It is best to buy antifreeze of the brand and type recommended by the manufacturer.

If the car already has some composition and just need a refill, it is also not worth experimenting here – it is desirable to make a choice in favor of the same class.

As for companies, today such companies as Total, Texaco, Shell have gained good momentum. Among our companies are Lukoil, VAMP, Sintec and others.

The most popular additives

We have already mentioned that contemporary antifreezes cannot do without quality rust-preventive additives – their presence is obligatory.

In the absence of special additives propylene glycol and ethylene glycol will have a destructive effect on the aluminum alloy.

This can lead to corrosion and destruction of the internal components of the cooling system and engine.

In addition, the additive package gives the antifoam, anticavitation and fluorescent properties to the coolant. Earlier sodium metasilicate was very popular to protect aluminum alloys from aggressive action of antifreeze. But it is not suitable for modern engines because of high operating temperatures and increased risk of engine blockage.

In addition, nitrates, copper corrosion inhibitors, dyes and other additives are often used.